


12x12: Person or Persons Unknown

by TheXFilesVirtualSeason12



Series: The X-Files Virtual Season 12 [12]
Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Gen, Monster of the Week, Mythology References, Post-Episode: s11e10 My Struggle IV, The X-Files Revival, Virtual Season/Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-01 13:23:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18335204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheXFilesVirtualSeason12/pseuds/TheXFilesVirtualSeason12
Summary: Mulder and Scully begin their final X-Files investigation in a quiet town in Washington state where those who go into the local woods come back forever changed.





	12x12: Person or Persons Unknown

**Author's Note:**

> “The X-Files” was created by Chris Carter and is the sole property of 20th Century Fox Television. This script is purely “fan fiction” and was not written for any monetary gain.

THE X-FILES

12x12

"Person or Persons Unknown"

 

Story By: Michael Little and Stephen Lovins

 

Teleplay By: Stephen Lovins

 

  


 

 

TEASER

FADE IN

 

SCENE 1

 

OCEAN SHORES, WASHINGTON 6:17 P.M.

 

INT. SEALE HOME - EVENING

A young woman, DIANE SEALE, stands in front of her kitchen  
sink, washing the handful of remaining dishes from dinner  
just prior. She is maybe in her early to mid 30's, reddish-  
blonde hair. We hear the gurgling sounds of a happy baby off-  
screen. Diane appears uneasy, making quick glances through  
the kitchen window.

We CUT to a view through the kitchen window, where Diane's  
oldest daughter CASIE swings slowly on a small swing set.

There is something off about the girl as she just sits, in  
silence, slowly but rhythmically swinging.

SUDDENLY, Casie snaps her head up to catch her mom sneaking a  
peek at her through the kitchen window. Diane lowers her gaze  
immediately. We CUT back inside, where Diane is looking down  
into the sink, her hands gripping the counter, terrified.

Slowly, she lifts her head back up to look out at Casie.

We CUT to Diane's POV, her daughter swinging distantly. Casie  
looks back up at her, but this time her face distorts,  
becoming grey-blue, her features broader and more muted. Not  
quite human, not quite alien.

Diane gasps and averts her eyes, turning around and going  
over to where her other child, still just an infant, lays in  
a bassinet. She picks up her baby, holding her close to her  
chest, her breathing heavy with anxiety.

We CUT to the household at bedtime. Diane looks at the infant  
in its crib, sleeping silently. She walks down the hall,  
nudging open the bedroom door where her husband, NATHANIEL,  
is already fast asleep, snoring.

Diane continues further down the hall to the last bedroom,  
Casie's room. Diane puts her hand on the doorknob of the  
closed room, taking a deep breath before turning it and  
entering.

Casie is still wide awake, sitting in her pajamas, staring  
out the window at the night sky, observing the stars.

CASIE  
Our stars are strange.

Diane cautiously goes to sit beside her on the bed.

DIANE  
What do you mean, sweetheart?

CASIE  
I mean that they're strange. And the  
moon is so small.

Diane looks unsettled, watching her daughter closely. Casie's  
face morphs again, though quicker this time, almost like a  
glitch in a video game.

DIANE  
You should be asleep, sweetie. Come  
on, let's sing your lullaby  
together, that always helps.

Casie looks over at her mother, confused.

CASIE  
I don't... know it?

DIANE  
"Hush-a-Bye Baby?" It's your  
favorite. You sing it to your sister  
all the time.

Casie shakes her head. Diane looks determined.

DIANE  
Why don't we take a drive?

 

SCENE 2

 

EXT. FOREST - NIGHT

Diane is driving her minivan up a tight forest trail, deep  
into the woods. Casie sits beside her, still emotionless.

DIANE  
Do the woods scare you, now? Since  
you got lost?

CASIE  
No, it feels... nice.

Diane pulls the van into a small clearing in the woods. There  
are several large tree stumps jutting out of the ground,  
someone having taken the trees for lumber. Fog clings gently  
to the ground.

Diane gets out of the car, going over and opening the door  
for Casie, ushering her out. She walks the child over to one  
of the tree stumps, the only sound being their footsteps and  
crickets. Diane gestures for Casie to step up onto the tree  
stump.

DIANE  
Ok, which lullabies do you remember?

CASIE  
I like "Twinkle Twinkle Little  
Star".

DIANE  
Ok, we're gonna play a game. Like  
hide and seek! Close your eyes. Now,  
sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star",  
and once you're done, you can open  
your eyes and come find me. Ok?

Casie nods, and begins to sing.

CASIE  
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I  
wonder what you are. Up above the  
world so high, Like a diamond in the  
sky...

Diane rushes back to the car as Casie continues into the  
second stanza. She pops open the trunk of the van, quietly as  
she can, searching for something. She finds it: the tire  
iron. She slowly creeps back toward Casie.

We CUT to a shot facing Casie as she sings, her mother coming  
up behind her, the tire iron raised.

CASIE  
Then you show your little light,  
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Diane strikes, slamming the tire iron into Casie's head.

Casie falls to the ground, where Diane hits her again, for  
good measure.

Diane turns her back, horrified by what she feels she had to  
do. She takes a step away before we hear the singing  
continue...

CASIE  
When the golden sun does rise, Fills  
with shining light the skies...

She is continuing the song through gurgles of blood, barely  
able to breathe. Diane walks back over to her, disturbed. She  
finishes her song:

CASIE  
Then you fade away from sight Shine  
no more until the night.

Casie lets out a child-like laugh as Diane raises the tire  
iron once more and slams it down as hard as she can. Then  
again, and again. Eventually she collapses in tears beside  
her daughter's corpse, finally and truly dead. She holds  
Casie's lifeless hand in hers and sobs.

We CUT to a shot of her from the tree line. We can just  
barely make out the silhouette of a hooded observer, watching  
her in despair.

FADE OUT

END OF TEASER

ACT ONE

FADE IN

 

SCENE 3

 

EXT. CEMETERY - MORNING

MULDER and SCULLY stand in the far distance as a funeral is  
performed. We see Nathaniel in tears as Casie's casket is  
lowered into the ground. An older woman, presumably the  
grandmother, sits holding the baby sister.

We CUT to Mulder and Scully just as Scully turns away from  
the funeral, unsettled.

SCULLY  
Of course this would be my last  
assignment.

MULDER  
Our last assignment, Scully. At  
least on the X-Files.

SCULLY  
You're not thinking of reassigning  
to another department?

MULDER  
Maybe. I still got a little fuel in  
the tank, career-wise. I always  
thought I could have a career in  
Human Resources. I could reassign to  
HR and me and the other girls in the  
steno pool could just dish and dish,  
all day long.

Scully rolls her eyes dramatically.

SCULLY  
FBI brass would probably jump for  
joy if you asked to be assigned away  
from the X-Files.

MULDER  
Not as much as if I just retired. Or  
died.

A YOUNG MAN breaks away from the funeral and approaches,  
dressed in a police uniform.

The man is, at best, in his mid-20's, clean shaven and looks  
rather unhappy to see Mulder and Scully. Mulder's eyes widen  
as he has a realization.

MULDER  
Scully... this is the last  
uncooperative sheriff we're ever  
gonna deal with!

He holds out a closed fist for a fist bump, which Scully  
rightfully ignores. The young man stops a few feet from them.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
You're the feds I was told about,  
then? I'm Sheriff Wiseborn.

SCULLY  
You're pretty young to be head of  
police?

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Yeah, well, full disclosure I'm  
still pretty new at this. Just got  
elected a few months ago.

MULDER  
I was reading that no sheriff in  
Ocean Shores has lasted more than a  
single term in almost thirty years?

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Yeah, well, there's been a lot of  
keepers of the peace around here.  
Listen, I'm not trying to seem rude  
here, but a lot of my boys on the  
force aren't exactly happy to see  
you guys around here.

SCULLY  
And why is that?

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Well, the Pacific Northwest ain't  
all hippies and left wingers. These  
are turbulent times, and a lot of my  
officers have been speculating you  
all might be Deep State.

Scully rolls her eyes again, more dramatically.

SCULLY  
Sheriff, I can assure you the FBI is  
in no way affiliated with any sort  
of "deep state" operation.

MULDER  
We're just trying to understand  
what's happening in your town. I  
have had reports of everything from  
Bigfoot sightings to UFOs in the  
skies come across my desk. Most  
important of all, I want to find out  
why a mother would harm her child  
like this.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
You two wanting to interrogate the  
mother, I assume? Well, I'm not much  
for it, but I could use your help.  
What she's been saying so far has  
been... unusual. You can follow me  
to the station.

The three of them walk off toward the road that runs through  
the cemetery, a line of cars parked along it. Scully walks  
with purpose, a step ahead of the two men. The sheriff leans  
in to ask Mulder a question.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
So I get you two are on the straight  
and narrow, but is there a... you  
know, "deep state" government?

Mulder glances over at him, deadly serious.

MULDER  
Brother, you have no idea.

Wiseborn laughs, thinking it's a joke. Mulder continues to  
look deadly serious. Wiseborn cuts his laughing short with a  
nervous gulp of air.

SCENE 4

 

INT. POLICE STATION - DAY

Mulder and Scully stand in the office of the police station.

Mulder draws a cup of water from a water cooler in the  
corner. He looks around the office, noticing that several of  
the other officers are eyeing them nervously. Scully nudges  
him, pointing to a TV hanging in the corner. "Truth Squad  
with Tad O'Malley" is playing.

SCULLY  
No wonder these people think we're  
deep state.

MULDER  
Yeah... It's equal parts admirable  
and pathetic, being so devoted to  
the idea of an alternate truth that  
you lose touch with reality.

Scully turns her head to give Mulder a supremely incredulous  
look.

SCULLY  
How in the hell have we been  
partners for 25 years and you just  
now come to that realization?

Mulder shrugs.

MULDER  
Hey, you can lead a horse to  
water...

Wiseborn opens the door of one of the interrogation rooms,  
ushering Mulder and Scully in. Diane Seale sits inside,  
handcuffed to a chair, a distant look of mourning and  
exhaustion on her face.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Mrs. Seale, this is Agent Mulder and  
Agent Scully from the FBI. They're  
gonna ask you a few questions.

Mulder and Scully sit down across from her. Scully eyes her,  
critically and skeptically.

MULDER  
So, your daughter, Casie, was six  
years old. You, by all accounts,  
were a loving mother and married  
working professional. So walk it  
back for me. Tell me when you  
started to feel... differently,  
about your daughter.

Diane speaks readily but wearily. She seems to have accepted  
her fate, though she still seems uneasy.

DIANE  
It was the goddamned woods. It's  
always those woods.

SCULLY  
Casie got lost in the woods?

DIANE  
The woods took her for two days. The  
woods on the outskirts of town draw  
people in, somehow. Been happening  
my whole life, someone gets curious  
about the forest, they go wandering  
in, exploring. The ones that come  
back don't come back the same.

MULDER  
So you're saying your daughter came  
back... different? Different how?

DIANE  
At first it was just little things.  
She was acting funny, forgetting  
things. Her first dinner back at  
home she'd forgotten how to use her  
fork. She couldn't think of the name  
of her favorite doll. I just thought  
she was tired, or whatever. But then  
she just started... behaving  
strange. One day we were walking  
down the street, going to dinner. My  
husband was pushing our baby girl  
Jodie in the stroller, and I was  
holding Casie's hand as we walked. A  
stray dog came running up toward the  
stroller, howling. Rabid probably.  
Nathaniel gave it a good kick in the  
ribs and it ran off, but it scared  
the baby, and she started crying.  
Casie... well, Casie just started  
laughing at her. Not scared at all,  
just laughing hysterically.

SCULLY  
And when did you start to have  
homicidal ideation toward Casie?

DIANE  
...when I started seeing her true  
face.

MULDER  
Her "true" face?

DIANE

*NODS*  
Sometimes you'd be looking at her  
and her face would just... change,  
into another face.

Her eyes were broader, her skin grey, her nose smaller. Not  
human-like. That's when I knew I had to kill her.

Scully shifts uncomfortably in her seat, distressed. Mulder  
notices this.

MULDER  
Mrs. Seale, your file says you're a  
painter, is that correct?

Diane nods dejectedly. Mulder takes out a pen and a piece of  
paper, pushing the supplies across the table to her.

MULDER  
Could you draw the face you were  
seeing, as reference for us?

Diane stares at the pen a minute, as if she doesn't want to  
do it, but eventually she picks it up and slowly starts to  
draw.

CUT TO:

Mulder and Scully enter the adjacent room, a one-way mirror  
looking in on the interrogation room where Diane continues  
her drawing. Sheriff Wiseborn remains in the room with Diane,  
monitoring her. Mulder closes the door behind him and looks  
at Scully with gentle concern.

MULDER  
Were you ok in there?

SCULLY  
I'm fine. Heard worse things.

Scully shrugs off his concern and Mulder clearly knows that  
her own impending motherhood is clashing with the details of  
the case. He tables the discussion for another time.

MULDER  
So what's your take on the case?

SCULLY  
Well, it's obvious, Mulder. I mean,  
she just had her second daughter  
less than two months ago; she  
clearly is suffering from postpartum  
psychosis.

MULDER  
But with postpartum psychosis, why  
would she target the older child  
rather than the infant that was just  
born?

SCULLY  
It doesn't have to make logical  
sense, Mulder, it's psychosis. Her  
grasp on reality right now is  
clearly tenuous at best. Severe  
postpartum psychosis, left  
untreated, can easily develop into  
the kinds of delusions and anxieties  
she was talking about.

Unbeknownst to them, Diane has finished her drawing. Sheriff  
Wiseborn takes it from her and walks up to the mirror,  
slapping the likeness against it. The drawing is a spot on  
rendering of what Diane was seeing, part-human, part-alien.

MULDER  
Huh. Correct me if I'm wrong, but  
that looks kind of like a...

SCULLY  
Mulder, don't say it.

Mulder smiles slightly, amused Scully doesn't want him to use  
the "A" word.

MULDER  
Well, let's just say there's  
something in those woods, and  
starting tomorrow, I plan to find  
out what.

 

SCENE 5

 

INT. PRISON CELL BLOCK - DAY

A SHRILL ALARM sounds as doors to the cell block are buzzed  
open by the SECURITY DESK ATTENDANT. Diane is escorted  
through by an OFFICER to the desk. When they stop, Diane  
looks at the officer's face, trying to be low key and unseen.

Sure enough, her paranoia proves correct as the officer's  
face GLITCHES and MERGES into a face similar to that she had  
been seeing in her daughter. The officer's face returns to  
normal as he notices she's looking at him.

OFFICER  
Eyes on the floor, lady.

SECURITY ATTENDANT  
So where's that dimwit Wiseborn want  
us to keep Casey Anthony here?

OFFICER  
Isolation, end of hall, no yard  
privileges.

SECURITY ATTENDANT  
That's ritzy treatment for a kid  
killer. Alright, the iso-cell is  
open, go ahead and get her in, I'll  
start the paperwork.

The officer nudges Diane to get moving, walking her down  
toward the end of the dimly lit cell block. The CAMERA  
FOCUSES IN on her handcuffed hands. She is cuffed from the  
front, her hands shaking in fear.

They finally reach the isolation cell near the end of the  
hallway, far away from the security desk. The officer half-  
halfheartedly pushes her up against the wall.

OFFICER  
Back against the wall, eyes down,  
bitch.

The officer opens the cell door, keeping an eye on her as he  
does it. He then approaches her again, unclipping his keys  
from his belt, bending down ever so slightly to take her  
handcuffs off...

SHE STRIKES. She throws the chain of the cuffs over his neck  
and rushes around him, pulling the chain tight around the  
officer's neck in a second flat. The officer struggles but  
she is committed, the two falling to the floor as the officer  
starts to choke and twitch

We CUT to a shot of the security attendant desk, where the  
attendant is hunched over the desk, stamping some paperwork.

The camera PANS OVER his shoulder and onto the screen  
depicting the security cameras. We see that the officer is  
dead, lifeless on the ground. Diane has unsheathed the  
officer's service pistol from its holster, holding it up  
against her temple and pulling the trigger. The security  
attendant leaps from the desk and rushes down the hall toward  
the gunshot as we...

FADE OUT

END OF ACT ONE

ACT TWO

FADE IN

 

SCENE 6

 

INT. CELL BLOCK - NIGHT

Scully leans over as best as her pregnant self can,  
inspecting both the body of Diane and the officer she killed.

Mulder and Sheriff Wiseborn stand behind her, watching her  
work.

SCULLY  
Well, there's nothing outwardly  
interesting with Diane's body.  
Clean, self-inflicted gunshot wound  
to the head.

Scully shuffles over to inspect the corpse of the officer,  
losing her balance and nearly slipping, her hand jutting out  
reflexively to right herself, landing on the officer's chest.

Once she regains her balance, she stares quizzically at the  
officer's chest. She feels the chest with her hand.

SCULLY  
This is odd.

MULDER  
What's wrong?

Scully loosens the officer's uniform shirt and runs her  
fingers down the chest toward his stomach.

SCULLY  
Well, this is where the ribs should  
be...

Sheriff Wiseborn claps his hands on his own ribs,  
idiotically, as if participating by answering the teacher's  
question. Scully brings her hand back up toward the officer's  
chest.

SCULLY  
...but this is where his ribs seem  
to be. And here seems to be his  
chest plate.

She knocks gently on the area above the stomach where his  
ribs should be, producing a hollow thud; solid bone.

SCULLY  
I need to autopsy this body.

MULDER  
We should autopsy all three, if we  
can; Diane, Casie, and the officer.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Hold on there, you two. Now, I can  
swing the autopsy on Officer  
Simmons' body. I know the family, so  
I should be able to get next of  
kin's consent. Even if not, here in  
the state of Washington the coroner  
has the legal right to demand an  
autopsy without it. But as for the  
Seale girls, I'm not gonna go ask a  
grieving father and husband for his  
permission to cut open his loved  
ones. I just won't. You wanna  
autopsy them, you can ask  
yourselves.

Scully stands, removing her rubber gloves.

SCULLY  
Then that's what we'll have to do.

 

SCENE 7

 

INT. SEALE HOME - MORNING

Mulder and Scully are sitting on the couch when NATHANIEL  
walks into the frame, holding a hot cup of coffee for Mulder  
and tea for Scully.

NATHANIEL  
Alright, a cup of coffee for the  
gentleman, and a tea for the lady.  
Diane always drank tea when she was  
pregnant. Less caffeine.

Nathaniel plops himself down in a chair near the couch, his  
eyes red from tears and exhaustion. He lets out a long sigh,  
trying to direct his attention to the agents.

MULDER  
Thank you for the drinks.

NATHANIEL  
Of course, I insist.

SCULLY  
Do you have someone here to help you  
with your daughter?

NATHANIEL  
Yeah, my mom. Jodie's grandma. She's  
been here ever since it... it, uh...  
happened.

MULDER  
That's good. How're you holding up?

Nathaniel becomes quickly agitated, almost shouting.

NATHANIEL  
Alright, look. It's been... one-  
hundred and some odd hours since my  
wife beat my girl to death. And it's  
been 12 hours since my wife killed a  
cop and then herself. And, I got my  
newborn baby girl I have to pull  
myself together for, so, I'm not  
really in for the supportive "I  
can't imagine how you feel" chit  
chat. So just say your piece and  
leave me be.

SCULLY  
I do know how you feel. Not even six  
months ago, a very evil man shot my  
son right between the eyes, right in  
front of me.

NATHANIEL  
...I'm sorry. Are you going to tell  
me "it gets better"?

SCULLY  
No. The only solace for someone in  
our position is that we're not  
alone. Hopefully that's enough.

She gives Mulder the briefest glance, almost imperceptible.

Nathaniel softens some.

NATHANIEL  
Just... tell me what you guys need  
from me.

MULDER  
We would like your permission to  
perform an autopsy on your wife's  
body, and... also on Casie.

Nathaniel stiffens.

NATHANIEL  
You do what you want to her, but you  
leave my Casie in the ground. Please  
don't touch my little girl. Now...  
please leave.

Nathaniel's head falls into his hands, tears coming again.

Scully and Mulder get up to leave through the front door,  
Mulder pausing momentarily in the doorway. He looks to  
Nathaniel, sympathetically.

MULDER  
A good friend of mine once told me  
that it isn't enough to just mourn  
what's gone, but that you have to  
hold on to what's left. I know that  
doesn't mean anything to you right  
now, but... maybe in time.

Mulder exits, the CAMERA PANS over to Nathaniel into a CLOSE-  
UP. His face MORPHS and GLITCHES, revealing the inhuman  
nature behind his human exterior.

Outside, Mulder and Scully approach their car.

MULDER  
I'm gonna drop you off at the morgue  
so you can get started on the  
autopsies. Call me with whatever you  
find.

SCULLY  
And what are you gonna do?

MULDER  
I'm going to go down to Ocean Shores  
city hall. I want to see some of  
their records and figure just how  
weird this town has gotten in the  
past.

 

SCENE 8

 

INT. MORGUE - DAY

Scully stands at the wash sink, thoroughly washing her hands  
before the autopsy. She catches her eye in the mirror,  
looking intently at her face. She tilts her head one way,  
then another, almost as if she expects a different face to  
appear.

Sheriff Wiseborn bursts in, snapping Scully out of her  
contemplation.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Considering the sensitive nature of  
this case, I'm going to be  
observing, if you don't mind.

SCULLY  
Fine by me. Just stay quiet, and I  
hope you have a strong stomach.

She straps a surgical mask on and approaches Diane's body,  
prepared for her on the surgical table.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Why start with her?

SCULLY  
I'm not sure I want to see what's  
inside the deputy's body yet,  
Sheriff.

She picks up a scalpel and prepares to begin.

SCENE 9

 

INT. CITY HALL RECORDS DEPARTMENT - DAY

Mulder approaches an older, white-haired woman, sitting  
behind the record requests desk. She looks up to meet his eye  
as he pulls out his badge.

MULDER  
Agent Mulder, FBI. I'd like to take  
a look through some city records, if  
you don't mind.

RECORD KEEPER  
Well, I'm the keeper of our records,  
so I can certainly help you.

CUT TO:

The Record Keeper pushes open the door of a musty record  
room, full of shelves of boxes and a few old computers.

RECORD KEEPER  
Looking for anything particular?

MULDER  
Old newspapers and clippings, court  
reports?

RECORD KEEPER  
Most of the physical copies of the  
court documents are filed on the  
left over there, and any newspapers  
we have still would be filed along  
the back wall. I must say, we have't  
had a proper newspaper in nearly 15  
years in this town, so most of the  
city's newspaper information is  
still saved on microfilm.

MULDER  
Old school. Alright. No town paper,  
huh? You guys don't like your news?

RECORD KEEPER  
I guess our town doesn't churn out  
many aspiring journalists,  
unfortunately.

We follow Mulder along through a brief montage of  
investigation, the CAMERA poised near the door, framing the  
entire room. We see Mulder going from box to box, paper to  
paper, almost like time lapse photography.

We settle in on him at the dusty and old microfilm viewer,  
scrolling through on newspaper headlines, like an old-  
fashioned detective story.

He stops on one particular paper's front page: The Ocean  
Shores Weekly Report. The date is for March 17th, 1963. The  
headline reads: TEACHERS TO BLAME FOR ELEMENTARY ASSAULTS?

Mulder pauses, reading the story. He then picks up a folder,  
searching for a separate item he remembers seeing. The desk  
is covered in old newspapers and folders of court reports.

Mulder's phone rings, vibrating on the desk. Scully calling.

He answers, cutting back and forth between their two  
locations as they speak:

SCULLY  
I completed the Seale autopsy, and  
I'm about to autopsy Officer Simmons  
now. Did you find anything  
interesting in your deep dive at  
city hall?

MULDER  
Something, yeah. I've dredged up a  
couple dozen newspapers and court  
documents and found a pretty  
troubling trend, starting about  
fifty years ago.

SCULLY  
What kind of trend?

MULDER  
Well, starting in the mid-60's,  
there was a dramatic uptick in  
sexual assaults, especially sexual  
assaults against children. But get  
this, Scully. Most of the newspaper  
reports obviously blamed the  
teachers or parents, but going over  
the court documents, not one trial  
ended with one of the accused being  
sentenced. And in multiple court  
documents, the accused even  
testified that the children were  
assaulting each other. The trend  
doesn't seem to break, either. I bet  
if we go over current police reports  
right now we'll find that Ocean  
Shores still has an unusually high  
number of cases of underage sexual  
assault.

SCULLY  
What would cause this sort of trend,  
though, Mulder, especially in  
barely-pubescent children?

MULDER  
Your guess is as good as mine, Doc.  
You find anything on the autopsy?

SCULLY  
Not on the autopsy, no. But I did  
find something interesting while  
going over Diane Seale's medical  
records. Put simply, Diane Seale  
should have been completely  
infertile, Mulder. Turns out she had  
a prior marriage in her early 20's.  
They tried to conceive but to no  
avail. She had every fertility test  
in the book done.

Blood tests, pelvic exams, transvaginal ultrasounds, a  
hypersterosalpinogram, fertility treatments... I mean, you  
name it, Mulder.

MULDER  
Do her records show any similar  
tests being done around the time she  
would have married Nathaniel?

SCULLY  
Not a one.

MULDER  
The man must have some swimmers,  
then. Have Sheriff Wiseborn meet me  
where they found Casie, after she  
was lost. I think it's about time we  
look into these woods, Scully.

Scully hangs up the phone.

SCENE 10

 

INT. MORGUE - DAY

Scully stands over Officer Simmons' body, instruments in  
hand. She speaks into a hanging microphone.

SCULLY  
About to make the Y incision...

Scully begins cutting down the corpse's abdomen. Already  
Scully's movement seems troubled, unsure.

SCULLY  
Alright, something is definitely off  
here.

Moments later, the body's flesh is pulled away, exposing the  
ribcage and chest bone are, indeed, basically reversed.

SCULLY  
The ribcage and the chest plate of  
the body seem to be inverted, in  
each other's rightful places. I'm  
going to try and remove the ribcage  
and chest plate together, as one  
entire piece, to preserve it for  
further study.

Scully makes further incisions along the sides of the body,  
further opening the corpse up. She cuts away at sinews and  
connective tissues before pulling the entire piece of bone  
away and from the body, setting it on an examination table.

She returns her attention to the open body, examining the  
different organs. Even through her surgical mask we can see  
her jaw drop.

SCULLY  
Oh my god...

 

SCENE 11

 

EXT. FOREST - DAY

Mulder and Wiseborn are preparing for their search in the  
woods, checking their weapons and packing some basic supplies  
into a backpack.

Mulder catches his reflection in the car window, staring at  
himself for a moment, not unlike Scully. He pulls at his face  
with his fingers, contorting his expression. Wiseborn tosses  
Mulder an orange vest, snapping Mulder out of his fixation.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Best put that on, Mulder. We don't  
have many hunters in these woods,  
but best to remain visible.

Wiseborn goes back to his prep when Mulder's phone rings, and  
he answers, greeting Scully.

SCULLY  
Mulder, I was right. Not only were  
his ribs and his chest plate  
inverted, but his organs are...  
different.

MULDER  
Different how?

SCULLY  
He has a strikingly similar anatomy  
to an ordinary person, but it's  
different. His lung, specifically.

MULDER  
He'd lost a lung?

SCULLY  
No, Mulder, that's the thing: it  
looks like he was born with just  
one, larger, singular lung. It's  
almost... evolutionary.

MULDER  
What do you mean, evolutionary?

SCULLY  
So, our chest plate is especially  
thick, to protect our heart, our  
most essential organ. We developed  
two lungs rather than one to make  
space in the chest cavity for the  
heart. Then the ribs protect our  
lungs and less vital organs. His  
chest plate is larger than ours,  
protecting his heart and lung, which  
were placed closer together, and his  
ribcage was shorter, protecting  
fewer organs. It's like he's a  
different kind of human.

MULDER  
Like a missing link?

SCULLY  
Like a separate link, Mulder. As if  
he belonged to a species similar to  
ours that developed in an almost  
identical way through some  
impossibly extreme form of  
convergent evolution.

MULDER  
Keep working with the body, write  
down your observations. I'm going to  
investigate the woods with Wiseborn.  
I'll call you soon.

SCULLY  
Be careful, Mulder. I'm not sure  
what is happening in those woods.

He hangs up the phone, looking over at the sheriff, who looks  
more than a little spooked.

MULDER  
Why am I getting major Pet Sematary  
vibes from these woods, Sheriff?

Mulder motions for the sheriff to follow, and enters the  
forest.

Wiseborn hesitates, watching Mulder disappear into the trees.

A large gust of wind comes along behind him, blowing leaves  
in his direction, just ominous enough to scare the poor  
paranoid cop into the woods after Mulder.

FADE OUT

END OF ACT TWO

ACT THREE

FADE IN

 

SCENE 12

 

EXT. WOODS - DUSK

Mulder stands in a small clearing, getting his bearings.

Wiseborn comes up behind him, still clearly frightened.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
So do you have any idea where we're  
going?

Mulder nods, pulling out a compass from a pocket on the  
supply backpack. Mulder flips it open, mumbling to himself.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
What's the matter, compass broken?

MULDER  
On the contrary, I think it's  
working just as it should.

Mulder steps further into the clearing, a bit of slightly  
overcast sky visible through the trees.

MULDER  
Alright, pop quiz: the sun sets in  
which direction?

Wiseborn shrugs his shoulders, Mulder rolling his eyes.

Mulder points dramatically in the direction of the slowly  
setting sun, its rays streaming through the trees.

MULDER  
West. Which should mean that's east,  
that's south, and this should be  
north.

He points in the northerly direction before pulling Wiseborn  
over to him to look at the compass.

MULDER  
The compass is pointing to a  
different north.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
So it is broken?

Mulder lets out a sigh.

MULDER  
Or something is distorting the  
magnetic field nearby, and I'm  
guessing it's in that direction.

 

SCENE 13

 

EXT. WOODS - NIGHT

The two men continue their trek, Mulder still following his  
compass, Wiseborn following Mulder. Wiseborn stares up at the  
sky, where the stars seem immensely bright, no clouds  
anywhere. Wiseborn looks down at his watch, catching the  
time.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Sky sure is clear tonight. They said  
it was supposed to storm by 9 but  
here we are at 9:30 and I haven't  
seen stars that bright in a long  
time.

Something small and globular floats in from out of frame,  
running into Wiseborn's face and running down his cheek like  
tears. Wiseborn panics.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
What the hell!? Is it drizzling or  
something?

MULDER  
You just said yourself, the skies  
are clear.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Yeah, but something wet just hit me,  
like a rain droplet or something.

Wiseborn wipes the wet from his cheek and neck, fretting.

Mulder squints his eyes off in the distance, everything dark  
and lit only by moonlight. He takes out his flashlight.

 

 

 

MULDER  
What the hell...

He turns the flashlight on, and keeps moving, slowly, through  
the woods. We start to see little translucent blobs of fluid  
floating around in the air, more and more appearing as they  
walk.

Eventually they come to a break in the trees where these  
thousands upon thousands of floating droplets rise higher  
into the sky. Mulder and Wiseborn walk further into this  
field of droplets, down a gently sloping embankment away from  
the tree line. The two of them are walking through the field  
of droplets, the droplets striking their clothes and  
splattering against them.

The two men stop, looking up with their flashlights, the hot  
orange light from the bulbs refracting through the droplet  
field. Mulder pokes a droplet with his fingertip, delighting  
as it cascades apart, but behind him, Wiseborn looks  
unsettled, his mind chewing on something.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Mulder, I know where we are...

MULDER  
Where?

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
That compass of yours says north but  
we're actually heading northeast,  
right?

MULDER  
Should be, yeah.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Mulder... we're standing in the  
middle of the Skagit River...

Before Mulder can respond, we hear the deep rumble of  
otherworldly thunder, followed quickly by a brilliant streak  
of white-blue lightning. The lightning doesn't strike like a  
normal lightning bolt, rather, it rather seems to snake down  
from the sky in rigged angles, sort of like a crack in a pane  
of glass. The bolt doesn't dissolve, it just stands there,  
lighting the water in blinding light.

We hear more rumbling, and MORE lightning cracks the sky, and  
MORE lightning. The light becomes so blinding we can't see  
anything on the entire screen.

The light dissipates, Mulder lowering his arm from shielding  
his eyes against it, looking around. Wiseborn is nowhere to  
be seen. Mulder looks, frantically, calling his name.

Mulder's panic over the sheriff's disappearance quickly  
vanishes as he looks down at his feet:

A current of water is running up to his ankles, slowly rising  
in the riverbed.

Mulder bolts as fast he can northward, fighting the current.

The water droplets slowly stretch into oblong shapes as they  
fall from the sky like crawling rain, the river rapidly  
refilling and rising. Mulder rushes toward the shore and the  
trees but the water is too strong, overtaking him and pushing  
him under.

SCENE 14

 

EXT. FOREST EDGE - NIGHT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sheriff Wiseborn SNAPS to awareness, sitting the front seat  
of his truck, parked back where he and Mulder first left. He  
is immensely startled. He pats his body as if to make sure he  
is still real, catching his eye in the rear-view, examining  
himself.

Wiseborn catches the readout on the truck's digital clock,  
stunned for a brief second before:

Scully knocks on the truck window, startling him even worse  
before realizing who it is. He bursts out of the truck,  
grabbing Scully by the shoulders.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Agent Scully, is that clock right?

SCULLY  
What!?

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
The clock! Is it right? What time is  
it?

Sheriff Wiseborn digs anxiously into his pocket, pulling out  
his smartphone, almost dropping it in shock.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
10:02! The truck clock, 10:02! Good  
lord, Siri, tell me what time it is!

Siri responds in her automated voice: 10:02.

SCULLY  
What is wrong with you?

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Agent Scully, I was just with Agent  
Mulder, not even five minutes ago,  
and it was 9:30.

A look of fright dawns on Scully's face.

SCULLY  
Oh my god, you lost time... Where is  
Agent Mulder?

 

SCENE 15

 

EXT. CLEARING - NIGHT

Mulder AWAKENS, lying on the ground, perfectly dry. He sits  
up, slowly, looking around him. He is in another clearing,  
although this one man-made: tree stumps abound, fog clinging  
to the ground.

When Mulder sits up fully, he sees a hooded figure sitting on  
a tree stump, near the end of the clearing. The figure sits,  
silently, its face hidden, little more than a silhouette.

MULDER  
Did you save me from the river?

THE FIGURE  
I pulled you from the water, yes.

The hooded figure speaks in an odd way, almost lyrical, but  
with a deep timbre nonetheless.

MULDER  
And who are you?

THE KEEPER OF THE WOODS  
I am the keeper of the woods, and  
its secrets.

MULDER  
And what secrets are you keeping,  
exactly?

Mulder stands, slowly, approaching the figure with a few  
cautious steps, his hands raised slightly, defensively. The  
figure takes no notice of his slow approach.

THE KEEPER OF THE WOODS  
I guard a bridge. The bridge is why  
you've experienced these moments  
of... unreality.

MULDER  
What kind of bridge?

THE KEEPER OF THE WOODS  
The bridge between infinity to the  
left, and infinity to the right.

MULDER  
Infinity... you mean, a bridge of  
time?

THE KEEPER OF THE WOODS  
A bridge of... place.

MULDER  
A bridge of... infinite place... so  
a portal? Put here by who?

THE KEEPER OF THE WOODS  
I am the keeper of those secrets.  
But if you wish, take a few more  
steps forward, and the bridge is  
yours.

Mulder steps forward, nervously. He raises his hands higher,  
as if reaching out to brace himself... SUDDENLY, his arms  
begin to shake and twitch, seemingly penetrating a near-  
invisible force-field, not unlike an experience he's had  
before, in his past.

Mulder's feet leave the ground as his body vanishes beyond  
this force-field and into nothing.

SCENE 16

 

INT. UNKNOWN BUILDING - DAY

Mulder SNAPS to awareness, standing in an unknown hallway.

Before he can react a bag is forced over his head, two  
unknown assailants dragging him away. The CAMERA CUTS to  
Mulder's POV, almost completely blank with only a few brief  
flashes of light seeping through the fabric of the bag. We  
hear the DING of an elevator arriving, followed by the sound  
of the doors opening. They drag him inside, the elevator  
creaking as it descends.

MULDER  
An elevator? Well, apparently that  
wasn't a portal to the future.

One of the men hits him in the side, punishing him for his  
sarcasm. The elevator stops and they drag him off, continuing  
down a dim hallway. We CUT BACK to Mulder's POV, more  
blackness and shuffling of sounds.

Finally, they shove him down and RIP the mask away from his  
head.

Mulder looks dazed for a moment, stunned even. A collar has  
been latched his neck, a green light centered in the collar  
He is sitting in a chair in his office; the same dimly lit,  
dusty basement office he sat in for years upon years. He  
turns his head to the left, where his desk sits. Pinned up on  
the board behind his desk is a poster, but not the classic I  
Want to Believe poster he expects. In its place is an adapted  
American flag, with only three stars and a range of other  
colors. Embossed over the flag like a slogan are the words WE  
ALL BELIEVE.

A familiar voice is heard off screen.

VOICE (O.S)  
I can tell this is not what you  
expected to find at the end of some  
alien portal... Another earth. But  
then again...

Mulder spots the unknown figure standing in the opposite  
corner of the room, silhouetted against the doorway. The  
figure ignites a lighter and raises it to a cigarette hanging  
from their mouth. The figure steps into the light, revealing  
themselves to be...

Mulder. The Mulder of another earth, another dimension,  
another reality.

FOX MULDER  
...in your world, life is full of  
surprises.

FADE OUT

END OF ACT THREE

ACT FOUR

FADE IN

 

SCENE 17

 

INT. X-FILES OFFICE - DAY

Mulder sits in the chair, staring up at the other version of  
himself. The other Mulder walks slowly into the center of the  
room.

FOX MULDER  
You know, Fox, well, can I call you  
Fox?

MULDER  
I'd rather you not.

FOX  
Ah, well. I prefer Fox, myself. You  
know, Mulder, I've been quite  
excited to meet you. I doubt you'll  
find this surprising, but I've  
discovered many other dimensions,  
and in nearly all of them, you and I  
are dead.

Fox pulls up a chair, sitting down across from Mulder.

MULDER  
How do I know I'm not dead now?

FOX  
This isn't hell, and I'm not the  
devil. I'm just a professional. For  
example, we wanted to start you off  
somewhere comfortable to you,  
somwhere familiar.

The alternate Mulder motions to the decor of the office  
before he yells to someone unseen.

FOX  
Alright, enough with the stage show!

The office around them slowly fades away, a projection. In  
actuality they are sitting in a nondescript room, nearly all  
black. We hear foot steps walking into view from behind  
Mulder, walking to stand beside Fox.

Jeffrey Spender; healthy, unscarred in this dimension. Mulder  
chuckles desperately.

MULDER  
Well, if it's not my brother from  
another mother.

Spender just looks at him, unfazed.

SPENDER  
I'm not sure why that's funny.

MULDER  
I guess that reference didn't cross  
over into this world like I did.  
Speaking of which, who made the  
portal that brought me here?

FOX  
Couldn't you guess?

MULDER  
Colonists?

Mulder points his finger skyward, as if to say that he means  
aliens.

FOX  
That's exactly right. Colonists,  
able to cross time, space,  
dimension, all using these portals,  
and for different reasons.

MULDER  
What kind of reasons?

SPENDER  
Human life, through time, though  
different, is always the same.

MULDER  
Helpful.

FOX  
What's he's trying to say is that...  
time starts us all as one river,  
flowing. Then suddenly, there break  
off tributaries, inlets, creeks,  
oceans, disrupting the flow of it.  
In your life, you're in love. You're  
a dissident to tyrants. Here, I've  
never met Dana Scully in my life.

In fact, it was an agent of my very office who killed her for  
protesting in a rally outside the Bureau headquarters.

Mulder looks at him, intently, angrily.

MULDER  
The FBI... killed Dana Scully?

FOX  
Not your FBI, but rather my  
Department of Observation. Here, the  
only secrets are the secrets I  
choose to keep. Remember, Mulder, we  
live in different worlds. In yours,  
you go left, in mine, I go right. In  
yours, your planet was wrecked so  
savagely by industry and pollution  
the colonists abandoned their plans  
as though Earth were merely spoiled  
goods. In my life, my planet has  
already been colonized. Peaceably.

Spender steps forward a bit.

SPENDER  
You see, Mulder, the idea of  
interplanetary colonization from  
across the cosmos is hilariously  
outmoded. Colonization will begin as  
it always has, right here, on planet  
Earth. Human brothers, overtaking  
one another, for the betterment of  
all.

MULDER  
The people coming back, through the  
portal. They're not human?

FOX  
An experiment. When their original  
plans failed, I suggested to our  
leaders that we form a new hybrid,  
between human and "alien", between  
this dimension and yours. A better  
type of human that can survive in  
the remains of your Earth. There's  
of course, one major problem with  
our plans so far.

Two figures hooded in HAZMAT suits enter the room,  
approaching Mulder.

One carries a suitcase, while the other is carting in a  
medical table. One sets up the table, moving to the other  
side of Mulder, while the other sets down the suitcase and  
opens it up, revealing a massive needle, two spiraling tubes  
of brightly colored green and blue liquid in the syringe.

FOX  
The problem is, Mulder, it isn't...  
natural to travel between two  
dimensions. Two worlds can't exist  
together, just as a life form made  
of our two worlds cannot easily live  
as one organism. You've seen it  
yourself, Mulder. The experiments  
that make it back to that sleepy  
little seaside town. We raised these  
hybrids to be especially  
reproductive, potently so, yet so  
often on your Earth this instilled  
need for breeding turns violent.  
Oftentimes, the hybrids who make it  
back simply die. Then there's the  
ones like the poor girl whose mother  
beat her to death.

The man with the syringe STICKS Mulder in the arm, injecting  
him with the dual solution inside. It seems to hurt, Mulder  
shouting out. His hands shake, violently.

SPENDER  
Something that exists in one  
dimension cannot exist perfectly in  
another, even if it manages to  
survive. Those around such a  
creature can perceive the rift  
created by the impact of the two  
dimensions in a single space. I'm  
sure you observed these phenomena  
yourself.

FOX  
The changes in gravity and magnetism  
near the bridge from your earth to  
mine. Feelings of "unreality".

Mulder continues to shake, moaning in pain before suddenly  
stopping, calm. The HAZMAT figure on the right places a  
device to Mulder's temple, getting a reading.

HAZMAT #1  
Sir, the hybridization treatment  
didn't take.

FOX (ANGRILY)  
Why?

HAZMAT #1  
Because, sir, he has already been  
hybridized.

SPENDER  
How!?

Suddenly, the HAZMAT figure on the left brandishes a weapon,  
shooting the other through the head before turning the gun to  
Spender and Fox, keeping them at bay. Fox rolls his eyes.

FOX  
Let me guess, another crusader,  
trying for a little insurrection.  
Who is it this time?

SPENDER  
If you're going to point a gun at  
us, you better show me your face,  
coward.

The figure pulls the HAZMAT hood off of his head, revealing  
himself to be none other than this world's Alex Krycek. Fox  
looks unamused, as though they've fought before. Mulder sits,  
barely conscious.

KRYCEK  
Sorry, boys, but it looks like just  
another failed experiment for you.

FOX  
If it's caught your interest, I must  
be on to something, Krycek.

KRYCEK  
We'll see. Until next time, fellas.

Krycek reaches behind Mulder's neck, where the collar is  
hooked, unclipping it from his neck. The room suddenly goes  
hazy, as if photographed through a blurry lens. Somehow,  
unclipping the collar has initiated an event of "unreality".

Mulder's head lulls to one side as he again falls away into  
unconsciousness.

SCENE 18

 

INT. VAN - DAY

Mulder slowly opens his eyes, looking around, clearly not  
feeling well. Krycek sits over him, in a caring way, not an  
aggressive way.

MULDER  
You know, in my world, there were  
dozens of times I wanted to kill  
you.

Krycek smiles, holding up the collar that had been around  
Mulder's neck.

KRYCEK  
Well, for whatever made you want to  
kill me in your world, cut me some  
slack for saving your life in mine.  
The government and the colonists  
have been trying to develop  
sustainable trans-dimensional travel  
for decades now. The best thing  
they've come up with so far are  
these collars.

MULDER  
What are they?

KRYCEK  
They prevent any being from another  
dimension that is on our planet from  
causing any lasting damage to the  
fabric of our reality.

MULDER  
How?

KRYCEK  
It suppresses some of the effects  
caused by the dimensional drift for  
a brief time... and kills you, if  
you're in our dimension for too  
long.

We hear the sound of the van's breaks coming to a stop. The  
driver, an ALIEN similar looking to the hybrids, turns its  
head, speaking to Krycek in an unknown language before  
exiting the van.

MULDER  
He with you?

Krycek chuckles, helping Mulder up.

KRYCEK  
Come on, Mulder. Let me show you a  
piece of my world.

 

SCENE 19

 

EXT. RESISTANCE CAMP - DAY

Mulder follows Krycek out of the van, parked on a dry, dusty  
bank near a river: the Potomac River. A few dozen men and  
women walk about a makeshift camp. Across the river we see  
the tattered remnants of Washington D.C.

KRYCEK  
We're standing in what used to be  
Alexandria, Virginia. Now, there's  
not even a Virginia.

Mulder examines the cityscape. The Capitol Building still  
stands, but half of the dome has been destroyed, looking  
almost as if cut clean through by a laser of some kind. The  
Washington Monument is nothing but rubble.

MULDER  
What happened here?

KRYCEK  
Well, like they said, Mulder. When  
civilizations collide, one is  
destroyed. The colonists and the  
government began these experiments  
into other worlds through  
interdimensional bridges, and  
slowly, over decades, our entire  
reality started just to... fall  
apart. The laws of nature and  
physics began to fail. The  
government tried to spin it on the  
travelers from other worlds, calling  
them "terrorists of disreality".  
Now, my world exists in pieces.

Krycek claps Mulder on the shoulder with a friendly but  
forlorn smile.

KRYCEK  
You'll be going home soon, Mulder.

MULDER  
How?

KRYCEK  
You don't belong here. You belong in  
your world. When two realities  
collide, they inevitably separate.

You'll be back before you know it and the gate keeper will  
see you home.

MULDER  
The man in the woods?

Krycek smiles.

KRYCEK  
An old friend of mine. In fact, I  
think he let you cross the bridge so  
I could give him something.

Krycek hands Mulder a translucent gemstone, a weird flow of  
blue liquid smoke inside the gem.

MULDER  
Why tell me any of this? You, them?

KRYCEK  
You won't remember it, anyway,  
Mulder.

 

SCENE 20

 

INT. THE KEEPER'S CABIN - NIGHT

Mulder's eyes open, standing just as he just stood with  
Krycek. He now stands in a small cabin, lit by a fireplace.

The Keeper of the Woods sits at a little wooden table behind  
Mulder. He strikes a match against the table, leaning in to  
light a pipe. Mulder turns to face him.

MULDER  
Who are you, really?

The Keeper inhales a puff of smoke, exhaling as he brings  
down the hood covering his face, the smoke clearing to reveal  
a man identical to the Cigarette Smoking Man. Mulder looks  
unnerved for just a moment before catching on.

THE KEEPER  
Yes, you look quite familiar, too.

MULDER  
You are from that world. How do you  
live in this world?

THE KEEPER  
I was an engineer, working with the  
government, for the colonists.

They had mastered space travel, though the portal technology  
they had was... quite crude. You could perhaps transport a  
person from a planet to a ship, but across time and space?  
Across worlds?

MULDER  
So you helped them.

THE KEEPER  
For a time. I was quite high up the  
ladder, with my two sons becoming  
star pupils in a government rapidly  
turning fascist. I was happy until  
the day my world started to fall  
apart. The laws of nature ceased to  
apply, many of the colonists  
fleeing. A dissident named Krycek  
helped me flee. I had built the  
bridge to this earth for them, but  
vowed to destroy it. However, I  
wasn't able to figure out how to  
destroy the portal before I fled.  
Ever since, I've simply tried my  
best to guard the portal from their  
experimentation, choosing to stay in  
exile.

MULDER  
But why did you come here?

THE KEEPER  
I chose this because in this world  
the two halves of my heart are not  
broken.

He looks at Mulder, wistfully. He is clearly talking about a  
world where his two sons are still good, redeemed men. Even  
though he could reach out and touch Mulder in this moment, he  
simply looks at him like an imaginary, hopeful figment of a  
better future from a life that had already gone by for him.

Mulder approaches the keeper, handing out the gemstone from  
his pocket. The Keeper of the Woods' eyes light up at the  
sight of it.

THE KEEPER  
How strange the world should bring  
you here, unaware of my existence,  
unaware of all the other endless  
worlds, to bring me this.

MULDER  
Maybe it's not so strange. Maybe the  
universe is just...righting wrongs.

*BEAT*  
Will I remember you?

CUT TO:

 

SCENE 21

 

INT. HYPNOTIST' OFFICE - DAY

Mulder sits on a couch against the wall, eyes closed,  
reacting to a question posed by the hypnotist.

MULDER  
He said, "Not at all".

HYPNOTIST  
And what happened next?

MULDER  
I left, back into the forest. And  
not long after I left, there was  
this flash of blue light in the sky  
for a moment.

HYPNOTIST  
And then?

MULDER  
I remember Scully, waking me up...

The camera pulls back to reveal that Scully is watching the  
session from behind a one-way glass, Sheriff Wiseborn with  
her.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Does this garbage really work?

Scully shrugs, halfheartedly.

SCULLY  
You would be amazed what the mind  
can repress. It's also incredible  
what the mind can imagine.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Officer Simmons' family requested  
that his remains be cremated, now  
your autopsy is over. I don't know  
what to tell them.

SCULLY  
Tell the coroner to do it. Whatever  
happened to him, and in this town,  
just... let there be rest.

Wiseborn nods, still seeming to not grasp his role in this  
larger, mysterious world.

SHERIFF WISEBORN  
Whatever's happening in this town,  
something tells me I won't be  
winning re-election. Give this to  
Mulder for me, will you?

He places something in Scully's hand, patting her on the  
shoulder before exiting. Scully turns her attention back to  
Mulder, who sits alone as the hypnotist is preparing some  
paperwork at a desk to the side.

We CUT to the inside of the office, where Mulder sits, just  
staring at his reflection in the one-way mirror, calmly,  
emotionless.

SCENE 22

 

INT. CAR - DAY

Mulder sits in the passenger seat of the car, Scully in the  
driver's seat, driving them back to the airport, presumably.

Mulder stares passively out the window, Scully occasionally  
giving him a worried glance. The radio is on, the volume low,  
but Scully catches a tune she recognizes.

She turns it up, the song being "Can't Help Falling in Love"  
by Elvis. We hear Elvis crooning, "Like a river flows, surely  
to the sea, darling, so it goes, somethings are meant to  
be..."

SCULLY  
Hey, Mulder, it's one of your  
favorite songs.

She nods at the radio. Mulder turns to look at her,  
disinterested.

MULDER  
Hm?

Scully watches him, turning the radio up a bit louder. Mulder  
seems more like himself.

MULDER  
Oh! Yeah, yeah. I love this song.

He goes back to looking out the window. Scully reaches into  
her pocket, handing MULDER'S COMPASS over to him.

SCULLY  
Here, Sheriff Wiseborn wanted you to  
have your compass back.

MULDER  
Nice of him.

Mulder begins to flip the compass open and closed, absent-  
minded as he looks out the window. Scully turns her attention  
to the road. The camera slowly zooms in on the compass... The  
compass seems normal, the lid clicking shut. He clicks the  
lid open again, the north hand seeming off from before, then  
the lid clicks shut. He clicks the lid open again, the hands  
of the compassing acting sporadically. The lid of the compass  
SLAMS SHUT with a dramatic clang as we...

FADE OUT

END OF ACT FOUR

THE END


End file.
